Carton



June 26, 1962 G. L. MEYERS 3,040,957

CARTON Filed March 29, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 38 3S -20 SJ 22 40 [M8 1 I LIZ 43 2 2 s ir A 5 la l7 l5 /Z0 22' is 2 1 1i 2: g

INV EN TOR.

GEORGE. L. MEVERS June 26, 1962 MEYERS 3,040,957

CARTON Filed March 29, 1961 s sheets-sheet 2 Eli-3e INVENTOR. GEORGE L. MEYE RS OMW June 26, 1962 G. L. MEYERS CARTON Filed March 29, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 GEORGE L.

INVENTOR.

v EYERS A TTOE/VEYS United States Patent 3,046,957 CARTGN George L. Meyers, Menasha, Wis., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 29, 1961, Ser. No. 99,203 3 Claims. (Cl. 229-37) This invention relates to a tamperproof, reclosable carton which may be made from a single blank. More specifically, the invention relates to a carton for packaging butter and other articles, having a reclosable cover or Butter is customarily packaged in cartons employing conventional end locking means. Such a packaging means has serious drawbacks. The use of locking means involves greater detail in die cutting for the blank than does a sealed end carton. If the locking means is improperly cut or distorted, the carton may open prior to use by the user. A typical locked end carton is shown in FIGURE 2 of US. Patent No. 2,956,720.

From the standpoint of utility, strength of construction and convenience, the ideal packaging means is a parallelepiped, sealed end, top opening carton which has an adhesively secured opening means. Such a carton is tamperproof since the tearing of either the sealed ends or the opening feature is readily ascertainable. Generally, previous top opening cartons such as the carton in the patent have not been satisfactory from the standpoint that difficulty has been encountered in making the cartons substantially tamperproof. Furthermore in order to reclose the patented carton it is necessary to tuck in the side flaps and then engage the cover flap between the edges of the side flaps and the front panel. This is not only inconvenient but also time consuming.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a tamperproof top opening carton which is readily opened and reclosed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a top opening carton with a hinged cover portion which telescopes over the receptacle portion so that none of the flaps or panels protrudes from the reclosed carton.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a carton which by its construction directs the user to employ the top opening means and not to open the end panels.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a unique construction for securing the end cover panels of the unopened carton.

Further details, advantages and objects of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and appended drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an integral blank suitably cut and scored to form a carton having a reclosable lid,

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the blank shown in FIG- URE 1 folded upon itself and having certain superposed portions adhered together as a step in making a carton from the blank.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the folded blank shown in FIGURE 2 partially set up,

FIGURE 4 is a fragmental perspective of the same partially set-up blank at a further stage in being set up,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmental perspective of the same partially set-up blank at still a further stage,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmental perspective of the same partially set-up blank at yet another stage,

FIGURE 7 is a fragmental perspective of the completed carton showing the cover in closed and sealed condition,

FIGURE 8 is a partial sectional view of the closed carton taken along line 88 of FIGURE 7 showing the end construction.

3,940,957 Patented June 26, 1962 FIGURE 9 is a perspective view showing the carton opened and the cover folded back,

FIGURE 10 is a perspective view of a modified carton blank of the present invention partially set up,

FIGURE 11 is a fragmental perspective view of the same partialy set-up modified blank at still a further stage,

FIGURE 12 is a fragmental perspective view of the same partially set-up modified blank at yet another stage,

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of the completed carton showing the cover in closed and sealed condition, and

FIGURE 14 is a partial sectional view of the closed carton taken along line 14-14 of FIGURE 13 showing the end construction.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the carton is made of a single foldable blank A of flexible material, such as paperboard. The blank is divided by score lines 1018 and cut lines 20-22 into hingedly connected panels and flaps including cover front panel 30, cover top panel 31, rear panel 32, bottom panel 33, front panel 34, glue flaps 35, cover end panels 36, end flaps 37, '39 and end panels 38. A glue tab 40 is attached to cover front panel 30 along cut lines 13. The function of the tab will be more fully described hereinafter.

The blank A is formed into a glued carton shell by folding front panel 34 about score line 13 to lie directly superposed on the bottom panel 33, applying adhesive on the exposed surface of tab 40 and then folding panels 3t} and 31 about score line 11 so that the adhesive bearing surface overlies and becomes adhered to the exposed surface of panel 34. In such condition, as shown in FIGURE 2, the shell may be shipped economically to the product packager for set up, filling and sealing.

FIGURE 3 depicts an initial stage in which the carton is squared and ready for filling. When the shell is squared, panels 31, 32, 33 and 34 are positioned consecutively at right angles to each other. Cover front panel 30 bears the same relation to panels 31, 32 and 33 as does panel 34 on which it is directly superimposed. Usually the carton is filled and then both ends are closed and sealed simultaneously.

Since the closing and sealing steps are the same for both ends of the carton, reference is had to closing just one end of the carton. In closing the carton, end flap 37 is folded inwardly about score line 16 to a position perpendicular to the rear panel 32 as shown in FIGURE 4. Then end flap 39 is folded inwardly about score line 18 to lie perpendicular to front panel 34 as shown in FIG- URE 5. An obvious alternative method would be to infold end 39 first, and then to infold end flap 37. The overlapping of the nd flaps provides a more rigid construction in the finished carton superposed on flap 37. The outer surface of glue flaps 35 is then coated with adhesive 35a and the flap infolded about score line 14 to overlie end flap 39. Cover end panel 36 is then folded inwardly about score line 15 to overlie and become adhered to glue flap 35 as shown in FIGURE 6. At this stage of closing cover end panel 36 is held down only by adherence to the glue flap. This leaves the bottom edge of the panel relatively free. The closure is completed by applying adhesive 38a to the portion of the inner exposed surface of the and panel 38 indicated in FIGURE 6, infolding panel 38 about score line 17 and then adhering the adhesive bearing panel to the surfaces of the end flaps 37 and 3?. The closed and sealed carton is shown in FIGURE 7.

As is apparent from FIGURE 8 the upper edge of end panel 38 overlies the lower edge of cover end panel 36 in frictional contact. This contact holds panel 36 in against the underlying end flaps so that no loose edge of the carton is available to catch on anything during handling and packing. Since this is a frictional contact and no adhesive is employed, the edge of cover end panel 36 readily disengages when the carton is opened. The adhesive bond between end panel 38 and end flaps 37, 39 terminates just below the lower edge of cover end panel 36 as is shown in FIGURE 8. This prevents the spread of adhesive to the cover end panel 38 during closure and hence prevents the sealing of the lower edge of panel 33. Any sealing of panel 38 would complicate the opening of the carton.

Referring to FIGURE 9, in opening the carton the cover front panel 30 is detached from the glue tab 40 along cut lines 19 and the cover raised. In the open position the carton is composed of a cover portion comprising cover top panel 31 hingedly connected to the rear panel and a hingedly connected cover skirt composed of cover front panel 30 and cover end panels 36, and a receptacle portion comprising rear panel 32, bottom panel 33, front panel 34 and end panels 38. In reclosing the carton, the cover portion is merely lowered so that the appearance of the carton is essentially the same as prior to the opening except that the lower edges of cover end panels 36 may or may not seat between end panels 38 and end flaps 37, 39. The necessity of folding in side flaps and tucking in a cover flap is obviated because the connected cover panels merely telescope over the outer surfaces of the corresponding panels in the body of the carton.

As an alternative to the embodiment described above, the product to be packaged may be placed on the blank and the carton formed around the product. The blank employed has the glue flaps hingedly attached to the front edges of cover end panels 36 rather than from the end edges of cover front panel 30. Using this method of closing the carton the end closures may be made first and then the cover front panel with the glue tab attached folded down and sealed. The overlapping end construction is the same as in the first embodiment and the carton opens in the same manner. The blank may, instead of having an adhesive applied during the setting up and closing operations, be coated in predetermined areas prior to folding with a heat sealable adhesive. The closing of the carton then requires only the application of heat to activate the pre-applied adhesive.

In the modification depicted in FIGURES l5 the shape of the end panels and the glue flaps and order of folding is altered. Referring first to FIGURE 10, the partially set-up modified carton except for certain atlerations in the end construction corresponds in structure to the embodiment shown in FIGURES l9. Accordingly, identical parts are numbered in the hundred series with corresponding designations. The car-ton comprises hin edly connected panels and flaps including cover front panel 130, cover top panel 131, rear panel 132, bottom panel 133, front panel 134, glue flaps,16i), end flaps 137, 139 and end panels 161. A glue tab 140 is attached to cover front panel 130 along cut lines as shown in FIG- URE 10, corresponding to cut lines 19 in FIGURE 1.

Since the closing and sealing steps are the same for both ends of the carton, reference is had to closing just one end of the carton. In closing the carton, end flap 139 is folded inwardly about score line 118 to a position perpendicular to the front panel 134. Then end flap 137 is folded inwardly about score line 116 to lie perpendicular to rear panel 132. The glue fiap 160 is infolded about score line 114 to overlie the overlapping end panels 137 and 139. An adhesive pattern 163a is then applied to the exposed surface of glue flap 160 in all areas except the area adjacent the lower edge of the flap. Simultaneously, with the application of adhesive to the glue flap, an adhesive pattern 161a is applied to end panel 161. This stage in setting up the carton is shown in FIGURE 11 where the respective adhesive patterns are 160a and 1610. End panel 161 is then folded inwardly about score 'line 117 to overlie and become adhered to the exposed surfaces of end flaps 137 and 133. At this stage of closing glue flap 160 is held down only by the upper i.- edge 162 of end panel 161 as shown in FIGURE 12. The closure is completed by infolding cover end panel 136 about score line and then adhering the panel to the adhesive bearing glue flap 160. The closed and sealed carton is shown in FIGURE 13.

As is apparent from FIGURE 14 the upper edge 162 of end panel 161 is sandwiched between glue flap and cover end panel 136 in frictional contact. The cover end panel 136 is held in place by adhesion to glue flap 160 which in turn is held in frictional contact against the end flaps 137 and 139 by the upper edge 162 of the adhered end panel 161. This contact holds panel 136 in so that no appreciable loose edge is available to catch on anything during handling and packing. Since this is a frictional contact and no adhesive is employed, the edge 162 of end panel 161 readily disengages when the carton is opened. The adhesive bond between end panel 161 and end flaps 137, 139, terminates just below the lower edge of glue flap 160. The adhesive bond between cover end panel 136 and glue flap 16% terminates just above the up er edge of end panel 161. This prevents the spread of adhesive during closure and hence prevents undersirable sealing of either of the end panels which would complicate the opening of the carton.

The carton shown in FIGURE 13 is opened in the same manner as the carton shown in FIGURE 7, namely by detaching the cover front panel from the glue tab along the cut lines, and raising the cover. In the open position the carton is composed of a cover portion comprising cover top panel 131 hingedly connected to the rear panel and a hingedly connected cover skirt composed of cover front panel 136) and cover end panels 136, and a receptacle portion comprising rear panel 132, bottom panel 133, front panel 134 and end panels 161. As in the previous embodiment, the necessity of folding in side flaps and tucking in a cover flap when closing is obviated because the connected cover panels merely telescope over the outer surface of the corresponding panels in the body of the carton.

The present invention provides a carton construction using an integral blank. The carton can be readily set up, filled with the commodity to be packaged, and sealed by automatic machinery or as an alternative the commodity placed on the blank, the carton readily set up about the commodity and selaed by automatic machinery. The carton is essentially tamper-proof because it cannot be opened without revealing the position of entry. There are no loose flaps to either cause inconvenience in handling and packaging or to distract from the appearance of the carton. The carton can be opened easily since although held tightly in place the'cover panels disengage readily once the opening means is utilized. Further numerous openings and closings of the carton are not detrimental to the intial carton construction.

It is to be understood that the description of the carton construction given herein is merely illustrative of the essential features of the invention, and is not limited to the specific dimensions or contours which may be greatly varied or modified and which variations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tamperproof reclosable carton formed of a single blank suitably cut and scored to provide a carton having a receptacle portion comprising hingedly connected front, rear, and bottom panels, a pair of end panels, and end flaps hingedly connected to the end edges of said front and rear panels; a cover portion comprising a cover top panel hingedly connected to the upper edge of said rear panel, a cover front panel and a pair of cover end panels hingedly connected to said top panel, and a pair of glue flaps connecting said cover front and cover end panels at their adjacent edges; said receptacle end panels being adhered to said end flaps in the area below the lower edges of the cover end panels; the upper edges of the receptacle end panels extending beyond the lower edges of the cover spa es? end panels to provide overlapping marginal portions of said end panels in face contact with each other, the marginal portions of one pair of end panels being interposed between the marginal portions of the other pair of end panels and the flaps adhered to said other pair of end panels; the cover front panel overlapping and being detachably connected to the receptacle front panel.

2. A tamperproof reclosable carton formed of a single blank suitably cut and scored to provide a carton having a receptacle portion comprising hingedly connected front, rear, and bottom panels, a pair of end panels, and end flaps hingedly connected to the end edges of said front and rear panels; a cover portion comprising a cover top panel hingedly connected to the upper edge of said rear panel, a cover front panel and a pair of cover end panels hingedly connected to said top panel; said receptacle end panels being adhered to said end flaps in the area below the lower edges of the cover end panels; the upper edges of said receptacle end panels overlying said cover end panels to provide overlapping marginal portions of said end panels in face contact with each other, the marginal portions of the cover end panels being interposed between the marginal portions of the receptacle end panels and the end flaps adhered to said receptacle end panels; the cover front panel overlapping and being detachably connected to the receptacle front panel.

3. A tamperproof reclosable carton formed of a single blank suitably cut and scored to provide a carton having a receptacle portion comprising hingedly connected front, rear and bottom panels, a pair of end panels, and end flaps hingediy connected to the end edges of said front and rear panels; a cover portion comprising a cover top panel hingedly connected to the upper edge of said rear panel, a cover front panel and a pair of cover end panels hingedly connected to said top panel; and a pair of glue flaps connecting said cover front and end panels at their adjacent edges; said receptacle end panels being adhered to said end flaps in the area below the lower edges of the cover end panels; the lower edegs of said cover end panels overlying said receptacle end panels to provide overlapping marginal portions of said end panels in face contact with each other, the marginal portions of the receptacle end panels being interposed between the marginal portions of the cover end panels and the glue flaps adhered to said cover end panels; the cover front panel overlapping and being detachably connected to the receptacle front panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,099,166 Inman et al. Nov. 16, 1937 2,122,885 Lowey July 5, 1938 2,275,134 Davidson Mar. 3, 1942 

